One more trip around the sun, and here we are again, closed for further reviews, but opening our gates for a little holiday festivity. Whatever holiday you are celebrating, and even if you don’t celebrate anything (is there anything to celebrate, anyway?), you are all welcome to enjoy a little, even if symbolic holiday spirit with our annual music compilation.

We thank all of the artists who have contributed their music for this online release, and we thank you, the listeners, for listening!

Summer is coming, and through the coming heat waves that bear the distinct aroma of the possibility of an apocalypse – a mere side story in the Anthropocene, it is time to offer a hopeful relief through another call for artists. Soon enough, the winter holidays will be upon us, and whether you celebrate the winter solstice, Christmas, Hanukah or any other holiday for this part of the year (and even if you don’t really celebrate!), you help us gather another “Christmas is not your friend!” holiday compilation!

No one can deny that 2016 wasn’t a good year at all, from politics and other movements throughout the world, to the mass killing of important and inspiring people around the world. The question is this: was 2016 just a bad year, or is it merely just another step on our way down?

It is this festive time of the year to remind us that, putting cynicism aside, we are here to help each other and make this world and all of its inhabitants better. The holidays are not an opportunity to do so, but a reminder to be the change we ask for, and to act throughout the year.

We have gathered some great music on this holiday compilation, with or without a Christmas spirit, and we hope that you all enjoy it. when the holidays end, go out and act where you want a change. There is no government, there is no culture and there are no costumes. There is only us, humans and non humans, asking to be alive, safe and free.

To make a long story short, and these sorts of stories need to be shorten straight to their punch lines since the details about reasons and considerations are irrelevant and irritating – the mayor of Montreal has decided that thousands of pitbul dogs have to be murdered, in order to, what, make the city safe for people? Is that it? Such demonic declarations by such horrible people usually spark outrage in the hearts of decent people, and for a damn good reason. While this death sentence is currently, as far as I know, suspended for the time being, it’s too late for the mayor, I hope. Some declarations cannot be undone, and this is one good example for an irrecoverable shame, I hope. Many people in Montreal turned against the call for slaughter (unfortunately, falling exclusively to the category of Pitbul slaughter and no other animal, but that’s a different story), and few of them gathered together in this great and charged compilation of 23 tracks by artists from the city, who speak against this vile order from the dark ruler. I Will say this straight away – you do something for the animals, you win my immediate support, this is why I have left Culture is Not Your Friend! A while ago, to concentrate on animal liberation activism and this is why I now return to write about this release. But after writing this paragraph, expressing my personal and fortunately – not rare opinion about this waste of space who decided to just casually order the killing of thousands of dogs, from now on we will concentrate on the music, regardless of its important aim.

If I had a slight suspicion of this album turning out to be a collection of eerily similar tracks of abstract, atmospheric ambient, I was delighted to prove myself oh so very wrong. The various artists bring together a wide variety of sounds, aesthetics and translation to this urgent situation, and offer a rich vocabulary to this musical protest.
The wonderful thisquietarmy opens the compilation with the decently named track “Euthanize me, I breed”, which already puts us in suspense and quietly pinching our nerves one by one. Other artists such as Maggot breeder and Alexander Macsween expand this front further, each musical act to its own artistic direction. Rei Rea, on the hand, shows a more rhythmic and dirty side to this album, with the wonderful track “Book of Clifford”. Together with Anti School Year, 1-Speed-Bike and more artists, it brings bring more demanding rhythms to this compilation. I could mention each artist and describe each and every track, but the thing is – they are all so great, so this procedure would just turn into a meaningless namedropping bureaucracy. I was positively surprised by Moose Terrific’s hypnotic track, Montreal Nintendo Orkestar’s unsettling lament, Alexandre St-Onge’s 37 minutes long track, which reminds of the music of Nurse with wound, but really, each and every track in this album is well thought of and well played..

“My Montréal includes all dogs and cats” covers the genres of dark ambient, Drones, and even harsh noise, such as the great closing track by Un Regard Froid. The entire compilation is a benefit album, aimed to help an organization called the SPCA, who is fighting against the call to destroy dogs. Great respect for the artist not only for showing up for this important cause, but also for a powerful, challenging and diverse album.
You can listen to their tracks through bandcamp, and see for yourselves that I am not exaggerating for some sort of a conceptual bias. [walnut + locust] is responsible for a very well thought of album, with very interesting artists. Get this compilation, support the cause and enjoy the beautiful music created by these prolific people who gathered together for this intense ceremony of hexing the mayor and saving the dogs, as their Montreal includes all dogs and cats as well. Damn right it does.

Culture is not your friend! might have disappeared from the everyday, but as mentioned last year, we rise once more when the holidays are upon us!

What are we here for? We call for artists to send unreleased music for our annual compilation, that will be released on Bandcamp.

We call for (post) industrial, ritual, Dark ambient, Drones, experimental and all kinds of (post) apocalyptic folk music in order to create the fitting soundtrack for whatever you make of the coming holidays.

Deadline – November 15th

Send your music (WAV, AIFF or FLAC only) to isnotyourfriend((at))gmail((dot))com

Yes, we have called it a day few months ago, and stopped reviewing new music, but a holiday is a holiday!

Once again we are happy to present to you a daring, even haunting holiday compilation, focusing on more abstract and eerie sounds, but also with the occasional slide into different genres and approaches. It might be dark, and even bleak at times, but that’s how we like the holidays! Make sure you check out the different artists who participate in this album on their own websites and through their own albums, because we got some really great projects put together into this album, offering an introduction to some promising names.